Sifan Hassan, who hails from the Netherlands, won the gold medal in the women’s marathon competition at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. She did this by utilising her well-known late kick to fantastic effect.
Hassan fought against Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia and was able to overcome her in the final straightaway, allowing him to cross the finish line in a time that set a new Olympic record of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 55 seconds. A spectacular Games for Hassan, who also won bronze medals in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events at the Stade de France, the sensational gold medal brings the conclusion to a remarkable Games for Hassan. The silver medal went to Assefa, who finished three seconds behind Hassan, while the bronze medal went to Hellen Obiri of Kenya, who finished 15 seconds behind Hassan.
Hassan declared, “I have the sensation that I am dreaming.” At the very end, I thought to myself, ‘This is nothing more than a 100-meter dash. Sifan, you need to hurry up. And one more. Just have a sense of it, like someone who runs the 200-meter dash. Every stride I took was a challenge for me, and I am so thankful that I didn’t push myself too hard on the track. I had a lot of anxiety about this race.
Up until the final ten kilometres of the race, it was impossible to predict who would win because all of the favourites were now in the lead pack. Hassan hung on to the back of the pack in a manner that is similar to how she performs on the track for the purpose of biding her time before pouncing. The defending champion, Peres Jepchirchir, then fell behind while Assefa drove ahead with a few competitors.
She unleashed her devastating shift of pace on the final turn, sliding around Assefa on the inside and momentarily brushing elbows with the Ethiopian, who attempted to comeback but was unable to catch up. She was able to win the race.
With his triumph, Hassan, who is now 31 years old, became the first athlete to win medals in all three distance events at a single Olympic Games since the Czech athlete Emil Zatopek accomplished this feat in 1952. Hassan’s success was the culmination of a demanding Olympic schedule. The 1,500-meter race was one of the events that Hassan had initially signed up for, but he ultimately decided that three events would be sufficient to challenge him.
Hassan had stated that finishing the marathon was “a kind of hell” prior to the race that took place on Sunday. She fainted after crossing the finish line, but she was able to get herself up and smile as the enthusiastic audience cheered.